Does anyone remember a time when they liked Cold Steel knives?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have a Carbon V Recon Tanto that I love. Changing the carbon steel out for AUS8A was dumb, dumb, dumb though.

I probably wouldn't buy another knife from them, except maybe a GI tanto, but they have some cool non-knife toys. I wouldn't mind a City Stick, or one of their plastic knives.

That is, unless anyone knows of another source of cheap nonmetallic blades?
 
You're remembering correctly Jon7 - the originals were brass.

I have four CS knives, Bush Ranger, Master Hunter, Vaquero Grande all 8A and a large Twistmaster DP Carbon V. I have no intention of parting with these.
 
I've been buying, using, and really enjoying Cold Steel knives and other products for some 15+ years now and I STILL LIKE MINE. With the probable exception of those two simple but good Bushman knives I bought last year, all my fixed blade Cold Steel knives are made of their fine Carbon V steel, and most were bought as seconds. I've also got a few of their drop forged medium carbon Taiwanese tomahawks that have always worked just fine, too. I still use some of their good rattan sticks, the recent version of their sjambok should be a useful snake killing instrument, and I still carry and like my older 4" clip point Voyager folder. Their recent Chinese models are probably worth what they cost, but I don't plan to order any at this point. I'm getting just a little tired of seeing "Made in China" on all kinds of products sold here. I think some people get all bent out of shape when the subject of Cold Steel comes up because they just can't stand Lynn Thompson, his showmanship, his sales methods, and maybe even his success. None of that concerns me, however.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
I have a few of them, older CS knives but still CS, I have an Urban Pal with a leather sheath that's like 3/16" thick and chisel ground also a few other older models from the 80s all are good serviceable knives and worth whatever I paid for 'em, I mean in short so I don't have to reaqd a billion post on CS, in a nut shell is the disatisfaction with the product or the company?

Also is like with so many good companies out there, that they lose focus of their goals?
Click to expand...

In a nutshell, I don't care for the way they did business. Things may have improved now, but I get the impression they haven't.

CS makes some great stuff; I still have several of their old catalogs. I liked their products for a time, but I finally just got tired of all their hype. Their are so many other good products on the market today - I'd take a Spyderco or Benchmade over anything from CS.

Watching their videos is entertaining, but watching a dozen or more different knives get bent & worked over gets kind of boring after a while. I also heard several first-hand accounts (from personal friends of mine) of dealing with their customer service - mediocre to downright mean.

Lastly, for a long time Lynn Thompson had a nasty habit of testing/destroying competitors' knives, then talking about them in really negative terms. (I don't know if he still does this.) It was no wonder that CS couldn't get any feature articles written about them for what seemed like years.

My grandpa used to say: "Be careful what you say about someone. You may find yourself sitting next to them in church next Sunday."

I know there are some pretty passionate CS devotees out there, so let me say ahead of time, my apologies if anyone is offended.

thx - cpr
 
After testing 420HC zero quenched made in Taiwan Cold Steel ODA in edge retention test I start liking it very much!

See for yourself:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=509097

this 420HC with proper sharpening performs very well on high sharpnesses and small load (around 200 cuts of 1/2" manila rope). However I do not know about their modern models because they changed supplier to communist China as well as I know.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
I think that Cold Steel has some decent knives. Certainly not the best, but many models offer excellent performance for the money. I especially liked their Carbon V knives. The new SK5 line seems to be of good quality. I had my doubts about a knife made in China, but my GI Tanto seems to be holding up well.
 
A man sent me a knife while I was on my way to Kuwait in August 1990. Some people like him alot, some don't. His name is Lynn Thomson, from Cold Steel knives. I didn't have a catalog, but I had an ad from a magazine with their address. I was already on my way over when I sent his company a letter asking if I could purchase a knife directly from them. Instead of just a letter, he sent a knife (an SRK). He wanted me to have a knife before I arrived in theater. The package contained a letter that said if I liked the knife I could send him a check for $35.00 when I had the time. No hurry. If not, I could send it back and he'd pay the shipping.

I haven't kept up with their current production line or all the negative opinions here on BF, but I sure was glad to have that knife back then. I still have it too. I re-profiled (thinned) the edge and tip, and stripped the old chipped up coating off, then black oxided the blade. It looks as good as new. Its in my pack (B.O.B.) on the back seat of my truck. It rides with me every day, waiting to be called back to active duty.
 
I have 3 Cold Steels from the late 80s & early 90s and a more recent medium tanto Voyager CE. My oldest folder is a small Cold Steel clip point w/ San Mai blade, backlock, and kraton scales. It's still razor sharp, has no blade play, and locks up as solid as the first day it took a breath.

The others are a couple of palm daggers that I carry in ankle holsters or in a custom leather sunglass/cigarette pack holder and the Voyager that stays in the dogs' first aid kit that we carry when we travel. They also still shave. None of them has any corrosion or any other issues.

I don't buy current CS products because I don't like any of them. If I saw something I liked, I'd buy it
 
I still like Cold Steel as well. They are'nt perfect but who is? I have an original Recon Tanto from the 80's that I really like. It is like the original tanto but with a bead blast finish and made in USA. Not to be confused with the later epoxy coated Recon tantos.(which are fine knives as well). I think Cold Steel makes alot of unique things that make knife collecting interesting for the person that does'nt have alot of money.
 
I have two Carbon V Twist Locks, one I keep for a spare but the first/original Twist Lock has cut down may trees on my property when I didn't have a saw handy.

I've cut trees up to 4" in diameter with the large no problem, blade stayed sharp and when it needed a touch up, it was easy.

Sometimes companies bow to the bottom line, profit margin.... the bigger that margin gets the more ya make and face it, who doesn't want more?

Sometimes ya believe in what people tell ya, this is made easier when your makin' a great profit.

My oldman alway's told me if ya tell someone that they're an idiot long enough they start to believe it, so if your not in close touch with the end user and realistic results from your product it becomes easier to believe the guy who say's this steel HT'd this way will give similar end results as if you used a higher priced steel HT'd this way.

What ever the current status of their knives and company, I still am glad that I have the ones, (knives) I have and continue to periodically check out their product line.
 
I had many different models from Cold Steel, most of the American made ones were farmed out, the ones made in Japan were of course farmed out. At the time, I had no problems with my Voyagers, my Gunsites were a little bit loosey goosey. The only one I had a real problem with was my Recon Tanto, dull and the tip almost fell off. Off center etc. I was on the hunt for a SRK couple months ago, but decided against it. I've seen the old Carbon V Trailmasters, and thought they they were pretty well made. If I bought any Cold Steel, it would be one of their khuks, or an old Trailmaster, either San Mai III or CV. Other than that, the models I handled were fine tools, but needed a little extra TLC to put them on par with other comparable knife companies.
 
I think the appeal of CS is three things:
1. The price is ussually hard to beat
2. Saying that "unique" describes about 70% of their stuff puts it mildly
3. They actually are tough even if we don't need to put them through car doors or chop pork ribs
 
I really appreciate the breadth of their product line. I remember stumbling on their website years ago and finding with delight that they sold spear heads. Not stupid stainless steel or chromed wall-hangers, but honest carbon steel working spears. I can forgive them for catering to poor mall ninjas and for overblown advertising hype when they are willing to support the fringe cutlery crazies like me. So many companies only produce products on looks, Cold Steel does some of that, but also covers guys who are going to use these archaic devices. My hat is still off to them. -- http://www.coldsteel.com/spears-high-performance-spears.html
spears2.gif
 
I liked them up until I actually got a couple. The Scimitar folder had a huge amount of play in the blade when locked up, and the kraton handle on the Carbon V shredded pretty rapidly.

I'd like to try one or two of their spears, but I'm afraid of what I'd get. :thumbdn:
 
orca8589 said:
Of course you will. So will I!:D But to get a Spydie or BM with a steel anywhere near as good as Carbon V, you'll pay twice to three times as much money.

Grandpa, the Kraton handle material is my all time favorite knife handle material. I wish that it had been an option on my Dozier.
It may not be "pretty" but I buy knives to use, and Kraton sure gives you one helluva positive, secure grip.
Click to expand...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top